Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing

by Barbara Ann Brennan, Thomas J. Schneider, Joan Tartaglia (Illustrator)

Barbara Ann Brennan continues her ground-breaking exploration of the human energy field, or aura—the source of our experience of health or illness. Drawing on many new developments in her teaching and practice, she shows how we can be empowered as both patients and healers to understand and work with our most fundamental healing the light that emerges from the very center of our humanity.

In a unique approach that encourages a cooperative effort among healer, patient, and other health-care providers, Light Emerging explains what the healer perceives visually, audibly, and kinesthetically and how each of us can participate in every stage of the healing process.

Presenting a fascinating range of research, from a paradigm of healing based on the science of holography to insights into the "hara level" and the "core star," Light Emerging is at the leading edge of healing practice in our time.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help, Health, Metaphysics, Science, New Age

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I was looking for. I was hoping for an exploration of energy work rather than a theoretical course on it. I was hoping for an optimistic view of personality/spirituality and Brennan's use of character structures, which hail from Freudian therapy, has the energy of judgment and disdain.

There were many case studies, but they were laden with an energy that was devoid of compassion or basic kindness when describing the type of people who might "suck" your energy.

As an empath and intuitive, I have to say that the difference between the images and title, "Light Emerging" and the content, (Freudian/Reichian -- Wilhelm Reich was a student of Freud), was jarring.

I'm a psychologist and, at one point, early in my career, I studied psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory (the offshoot of the more traditional psychoanalysis), extensively. It was from seeing the effects of its pedantic and narrow perspective on my clients that I stopped being psychodynamic.

I think psychoanalysis has its place in history; the concepts of the unconscious and the past affecting the present were prescient for their time and valuable for ours. But, the view of the therapist as expert above the client, the excessive focus on the past, and the one-size-fits-all approach to people (that we all have Oedipal or Electra complexes and get stuck at certain stages that are always the same), are all obnoxious and unfounded. I'm reducing psychoanalysis, but the main point is, the alignment of this book with psychoanalysis in its discussion of concepts is disturbing, and not at all what I expected from a spiritual manual!

The energy of psychoanalysis is not something you want to replicate when you're talking about people healing themselves. Viewing people from the outside based on their character structures (this is pure Reich, btw), is really limiting.

Lastly, the book is deeply religious in addition to being spiritual. Ack! I thought it was odd that she kept referring to God and "let go and let God" and that not letting God into your life is a sign of spiritual weakness. There are many ways to define God and using a term that is historically-aligned with organized religion is odd.

You can be spiritual and intuitive without subscribing to organized religion. The author seems to disagree.
This book was not my cup of tea. But, it might be yours.

[Kimberly Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although very interesting in the beginning, it took me a very long time to read this meaty book. Good introduction for those who want to go into work in the energetic healing field but a little heady for just reading material. The author explains her journey as a healer well but I was looking for a little more practical knowledge and instruction after getting through what seemed like major coursework.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute MUST-HAVE for any energy worker! The knowledge the author shares about the human energy field in this book is so in depth, it requires referring back many times to various chapters to take it all in. I will be purchasing this for my energy work library!

[Lillian Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy to understand book on chakras, healing, energy and human interactions with regards to the interplay of the auras.

[Stardust]

This book is always near by. I may not pick it up for years, but I'm still always in the process of reading it. A guide book about your physical energy.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brennan's second book is more narrowly focused than Hands of Light, making is a much easier read. I love that she expands so much on the topic of self-care and how to assess progress on the mental and spiritual aspects, in particular.

I find the discussion of the energy field, the hara line, tan tien, and core star most fascinating. The channeling from Heyoan is wonderful. I have come to a deep appreciation of channeled information.

There is much practical information in this book to improve the quality of one's life.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while healing from an injury which required surgery and months of rehabilitation. It took me a year to read it; I ruminated every chapter, there was so much to absorb. Now that I am an LMT, I appreciate this book even more. I continue to see things I did not grasp in the first reading. For me, this book and Hands of Light is a compilation of science, psychology and spirituality rolled into one union. It has helped me understand relationships more dynamically.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable tool for the light worker, one who wishes to under the self holistically, and as a reference book for any light worker.

[Natalya · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Love is the experience of being connected to God and to everything else. God is everywhere, in everything. God is above us, below us, all around us, and within us. The divine spark of God is uniquely individual in each of us. It is God individually manifested. We experience it as our inner fountainhead, or the core of our being. The more we are connected to God outside of ourselves, the more we are connected to and bring forth the individuality of the God within. When we are connected to the universal God and the individual God within, we are completely safe and free.

[Sujata Sahni]

As we go through painful experiences in our lives, we automatically try not to feel the pain. We have done this since childhood. We cut off our physical pain by withdrawing our consciousness from the part of our body that is in pain. We cut off our mental and emotional anguish by tensing our muscles and repressing it into the unconscious. To keep it repressed in the unconscious, we create all kinds of distractions in our lives that take our attention away from it. We may not even be aware of the process, because by the time we reach the age of reason, we do it habitually. The only way to remember who we truly are, is to create our lives the way we want it. To do this means wading through our defense system, clearing negative feelings and layers of imagined pain to get to the original wound. Once we reach the original wound, we heal ourselves and our lives. Most of us kill some of our aliveness, because we know that to let the life-force flow would knock lose the old pain and we are afraid of that. Most often we retreat from the defense and go back to the old, seemingly adequate mask definitions of who we are. The internal parental voices of the mask get stronger, and we continue to retreat. Illness comes from shrouding and disconnecting a part of our selves from this core of our being. Healing is reconnecting to our core psyche, where we have disconnected from it and living accordingly. The bio energy field is directly related to the functioning of the physical body. Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama, founder of the International Association of Relegion and Parapsychology, has electrically measured the state of acupuncture meridians. The energy field exists before the physical body, a phenomenon that supports this idea is the phantom limb effect. People with amputated limbs continue to feel them, these phantom limbs are visible in the auric fields of the patients and residual feelings are usually explained by the irritation of the nerve endings that have been cut off. Which means that the basic energy structure of the limb is still present. There are seven levels of the human energy fields and are explained by Physical sensation, emotions with respect to self, rational mind, relations with others, divine will within, divine love and spiritual ecstasy, divine mind and serenity. Healing may be required at any level. The phase of the creative principle in which we are unfolding or contracting back into the self is the one we resist the most because negative feelings are usually evoked. In the phase of expansion, a great deal of energy moves through our bodies and energy system. The powerful energy brings to light our dark stagnated energy blocks, which bring life and conscious awareness back into them. We see faults that we did not see before and often we begin to judge or reject ourselves. We try to stop the enfolding pulse of the wave and we often interrupt the creative process of energy release. Contracting is the coming in to the self, drawing yourself within, to the wisdom that has always been there. Hara is a Japanese term referring to the source of this energy and spiritual power in the lower belly. Within the Hara region is a central point called the tan tien and is the centre of gravity in the body. In Martial arts, it is the centre from which all movement originates. The Hara exists on a deeper dimension that the auric field from which each of us has drawn our physical body from Mother Earth into physical manifestation. A misalignment in the Hara with Mother Earth leads to sickness and disease as you are misaligned with the centre of gravity. The Tan Tien is like a hollow rubber ball and contains a membrane. The tone of this note holds our body in physical manifestation. The note is the harmonic sound that the molten core of the earth makes. Any change in the sound of the earth will impact the sound in the tan tien, thereby impacting the physical manifestation of the body as the sound holds the shape together. When your haric level is synchronised with the whole, you feel a lot of personal integrity, power and personal purpose, because you are synchronised with the universal purpose. The healers generally maintain a brain wave patter of 7-8 MHz which helps to align the energy fields. The book helps to understand how eastern and western health care practitioners can work together to bring holistic health for the patient.

[Sooz]

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[Teri Uktena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the author's other books, this is definitely of it's time. She talks about self healing in terms of going back to the original wound, showing no understanding of c-PTSD, outside influences such as poverty, domestic abuse, molestation, food insecurity, war and so on. This is also very much from a "European - American" middle class perspective which assumes all people have a level of privilege therefore everyone can access the same resources, has the same amount of agency, and lives in secure enough situations to be able to do this work effectively.

This also leans heavily into the concept all adult issues or problems stem from childhood, or reach back further into specific past lives, and sees them as frozen in time, or in the subconscious and waiting for exposure. This misunderstands neurobiology and the natural functioning of the limbic system where this type of freezing and then unfreezing of time keeps us safe in traumatizing situations. It also seems to rely on a Jungian/Protestant worldview of the psyche mixed with an American style pop-culture notion of how chakra's work. It is completely missing information on soul retrieval and other indigenous practices for healing trauma effectively and which speaks to these soul parts or moments which are frozen in "trauma-now" time.

It mentions and/or incorporates various concepts which we now know are misunderstood or misapplied like "holographic reality", intention being a magical force in and of itself, and various dimensions being realms where various beings dwell.

I'm all for supporting people in advocating for their holistic health and empowering them to act in their own best interest. If this is an entry point for readers, that's good, but there are better methods and resources now which avoid the more problematic aspects of the author's teachings.

[Soulitude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book, and also Hands of Light by the same author.
These two books are 'must haves' for any energy worker/light worker.
So much info packed into them.
I find myself always dipping into them both for information, using them
as major references nowadays. <3

[Niki Senior · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most informative book, that I still refer to, years after purchasing it.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A basic for anyone starting out as a healer

[Cheresa Naudé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, clear and informative.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enlightening. Helped me on my Healing Touch journey.

[izzy]

não li esse livro, somente um com o mesmo nome!!!
mas que não está disponível no goodreads :(((

[Javier Brito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.

[Jessica Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive course book on Energy Healing. It’s a must for anyone interested in Healing or wanting to become a healer!

[Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The auric field seems rather complex, but Brennan gives a very straight-forward, detailed explination for how emotions relate to the energy fields and chakras. She uses real cases to demonstrate points and gives readers questions to think about their own experiences.

I've personally felt this book has reaffirmed thoughts I've had regarding the field of intention that Wayne Dyer talks about. This book really put a lot of things into perspective for me.

[Kat Starwolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound. In my opinion, this book went even deeper and was more revealing of who we are on a basic level than even her first book. This (again, in my opinion) is because we need to heal ourselves before we can help anyone else. I have always 'aspired' to be a healer. But I've never felt more like a true healer until after I finished Light Emerging. Worthy of significant annotation and kept as a 'Bedside Book.'

[Grace Dadoyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part reference manual, part stories and is packed full of information that cannot be absorbed in one reading. This is one to keep referring back to. Barbara Brennan shares stories of her journey as well as case studies interspersed with explanations and exercises. Anyone studying energy work would benefit from reading this book.

[Tuhina Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book with more holistic in approach than her previous book "Hands of Light". Its become my bedside table book for a while now. Keeps me motivated to not miss my meditation sessions every night. Thanks Barbara!

[Inara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title in English:
Light Emerging - The Journey of Personal Healing

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handy!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it if you loved 'Hands of Light.'

[Carole]

Je l'ai demandé pour Noël.

[Heather-anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great exploration of the personal journey.

[Aji]

Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing,...